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MEMORANDUM To:Mayor Stille and St. Anthony Village City Council From:Stephen Grittman, City Planner Date:City Council Meeting – April 25, 2023 NAC Project No.323.01 – 23.03 Request:Request for a Vacation of an Easement in the “C”, Commercial District Property Address:2550 Highway 88 Property PID:07-029-23-24-0358 PROJECT DESCRIPTION The Applicants are seeking vacation of an Easement Agreement originally held by the HRA, but since assigned to the City of St. Anthony Village. The easement encumbers the northwest area of the Hannay’s commercial property at the above address. Easement vacations are considered as a part of a public hearing held by the City Council. Per the applicant’s materials, the easement was granted in 1999, with the purpose of facilitating the creation of an open space and other public improvements as a part of a larger redevelopment plan. Those plans have not resulted in a project to date. The applicants are hoping to have that easement released, with the intention that they enclose the space with screening fence and utilize it for temporary boat storage and staging for vessels they have in for service. There are, as a result, a number of issues raised by the request. First is the entitlement issue related to the easement itself; second is the existence of other utilities and utility easements overlapping a portion of the same area; and third, a land use issue related to the use of the property once and if the easement is removed. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff has reviewed the project for land use compliance with the intent and policies of the City’s Comprehensive Plan, and for zoning consistency with the “C”, Commercial District as a baseline. For public easement vacations, no Planning Commission hearing is required. In summary, the Comprehensive Plan promotes use of the subject properties that reflect the proposed commercial uses in the area. The proposed easement vacation would facilitate that purpose for the subject property. However, there are conditions that complicate the question, including long-term public use of the area, reservation of drainage and utility easements, and further land use processing depending on the applicant’s proposed use of the area in question.